


Chocolate Rations

by Capucine



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Bonding, Families of Choice, Father Figures, Fluff, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Short & Sweet, Weird Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaylah may know, in some way, that she's in a very different place than her old home. But Scotty realizes there are a lot of ingrained beliefs and behaviors that she hasn't abandoned yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chocolate Rations

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda my feeling, with my PTSD? I dunno. I feel like she would definitely have CPTSD going on. Hope it makes sense!

Jaylah seemed most astonished by, of all things, chocolate.

It was a very old Earth food, one that Scotty couldn’t have named the origin of off the top of his head. It was something of a staple of space food early on, he was told, and also of soldiers prior to that. Soldiers brought to mind dusty old things that his grandfather would play or watch, that he’d tell Scotty that their ancestor had fought in.

Scotty was glad he wasn’t around to be in such wars, in any case.

As it was, though, Jaylah sometimes lived like she was in one. He discovered this at the same time he discovered her cache of chocolate.

“Jaylah, what is this?” he asked, a bit confused on the jammed closet. It was supposed to be for her Star Fleet uniform and similar items, not chocolate.

She looked displeased he’d discovered it. She threw the blanket back over it, and shut the door. “Do not tell anyone, Montgomery Scotty.”

“Uh...why?” he asked, dreading the answer just a little.

“Because if there is no more of this chocolate, they may take mine,” Jaylah responded. Her face was entirely serious, watching him like she expected him to swear to keep the stash hidden.

“There will likely always be enough chocolate, Jaylah,” Scotty explained, unsure quite how to impart it. “What makes you think people’d take yours?”

Jaylah raised a brow at him, as if the answer were obvious. “For one thing, Montgomery Scotty, chocolate is something I have heard others say they would kill for.”

He almost laughed, until she followed it up.

“For another, I have had things people would kill for before, and I know I must hide it if I want to keep it. Or I will have to fight them, and the students here are better than the ones back there.”

That sobered him up fast. He looked into her yellowish eyes, and knew she had fought people just to live from a young age. He could see the chocolate mattered to her not just in flavor, but in getting to keep her things. 

“Well...see, no one’s going to take your chocolate, or anything that belongs to you,” Scotty replied gently, “If they do, it’s a crime and they will get in trouble. The thing is, lassie, the thing is...”

How exactly did you explain that the world had gone from cutthroat to comfy in only one trip? How did you explain safe to someone who barely knew the full meaning of the word? To someone who had likely lived with a knot in their stomach for most of their lives?

She blinked at him. “They won’t take it, because I will fight them.”

“Well, that might be true, but no one is going to take your food. There’s enough for everyone, and people just...they don’t do that here. No one needs to.” Scotty shifted back a little, patting the couch in Jaylah’s room.

He only took a seat when she seemed comfortable enough to take a seat as well.

“Y’see, this place isn’t a fight to survive—it’s a way to excel. You know how those, um...you remember some of the trees, the big plants, back there?”

Jaylah nodded.

“Well, they’re not struggling to survive, are they? They’ve grown big and strong and tall. And that’s what this place is for.”

Jaylah’s eyes showed some dawn of understanding. Some. She nodded slowly. “I will be the strongest Star Fleet one, then.”

Scotty smiled a little. “You do it, lassie. I know you can.”

She cracked a smile as well, not something he frequently saw from her even now. “Thank you, Montgomery Scotty.”

She’d do all right, Scotty was sure. She was a survivor—and this, while all new, was something she could learn to adapt to.

She had taught herself to read and speak their language with no one to teach her, after all. She was one smart young lady.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write more Jaylah and Scotty fluff. Sorry, man!


End file.
